1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus configured to remove a residue from a surface of a rotatable image bearing member of an image forming apparatus on which a developer image is formed. The present invention also relates to a cartridge including a cleaning apparatus, an image forming apparatus including a cleaning apparatus, and an elastic seal for use in a cleaning apparatus.
An image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording medium using an image forming process. Examples of an image forming apparatus include copying machines, printers (e.g., laser beam printer, LED printer), facsimile apparatuses, multifunctional devices thereof, and word processors.
Examples of an image forming process include an electrophotographic image forming process using an electrophotographic photosensitive member as an image bearing member, an electrostatic recording image forming process using an electrostatic recording dielectric member as an image bearing member, and a magnetic recording image forming process using a magnetic recording magnetic member as an image bearing member.
An image forming apparatus of a transfer method transfers a developer image formed on an image bearing member onto a recording material, or transfers a developer image formed on an image bearing member onto a recording material via an intermediate transfer member as a second image bearing member, to output an image formed product. A developer and other residues remaining on a surface of the image bearing member or the intermediate transfer member as the second image bearing member after the transfer of a developer image onto a recording material are removed (cleaned) by a cleaning apparatus to use the image bearing member or the intermediate transfer member repeatedly in image formation.
Examples of an image forming apparatus include an image display apparatus (e.g., display apparatus, electronic black board apparatus, electronic white board apparatus) that displays on a display unit a developer image formed on an image bearing member or a developer image transferred on an intermediate transfer member. In an image display apparatus, a developer image after being formed on an image bearing member or an intermediate transfer member and displayed on a display unit is removed from the image bearing member or the intermediate transfer member by the cleaning apparatus to use the image bearing member or the intermediate transfer member repeatedly in image formation. As necessary, the developer image after being formed on the image bearing member or the intermediate transfer member and displayed on the display unit is transferred onto a recording material to output an image formed product.
The image bearing member, the intermediate transfer member, and the recording material in the image forming apparatuses described above are collectively referred to as a recording medium on which a developer image is to be formed by an image forming process.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cleaning apparatus of a blade cleaning method for use in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes a cleaning blade. A front edge of the cleaning blade is brought into contact with a surface of a photosensitive drum as an image bearing member to scrape residues. The cleaning apparatus also includes a cleaning frame member that supports the cleaning blade and collects the scraped residues. The cleaning apparatus further includes a pair of side seals disposed at both sides of the cleaning blade in the longitudinal direction to prevent the residues from leaking from the cleaning frame member.
There is known a structure of a side seal of a cleaning apparatus including an auxiliary sealing member, which is in contact with a back surface of a cleaning blade, and an end seal member, which is in contact with a side end surface of the cleaning blade (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-121990).
In the foregoing structure, the end seal is bonded after the cleaning blade is attached. Thus, the end seal can be bonded to fit the side end surface of the cleaning blade. In other words, an advantageous effect of preventing residues from leaking from the cleaning frame member is significantly high.
There is also known a method of configuring a side seal by applying a liquid sealing member onto a cleaning frame member and then attaching a cleaning blade and a photosensitive drum to spread the liquid sealing member before the liquid sealing member solidifies (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-265409).
In the foregoing configuration, the liquid sealing member is spread by a component such as the cleaning blade to come into close contact with the cleaning blade and the cleaning frame member. Thus, the advantageous effect of preventing residues from leaking from the cleaning frame member is significantly high.
There is also known a method in which either a side end surface of a cleaning blade or a sealing member facing the side end surface is provided with a tapered surface, and the side end surface of the cleaning blade and the sealing member are engaged wedgewise to come into close contact with each other, thereby securing sealing properties (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-27861).
With the foregoing configuration, sealing properties of the side end surface of the cleaning blade and the sealing member facing the side end surface can be secured.